By LEVI PULKKINEN, P-I REPORTER

Published 10:00 pm, Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Prosecutors have filed murder charges against one of two men held as suspects in last weekend's shooting inside a Seattle nightclub.

Carlos Bernardez, 18, who is charged with first-degree murder, allegedly told police that he was put up to the shooting at the nightclub Chop Suey on Capitol Hill by the second suspect, Roger Allen Labranche, 25. But King County prosecutors opted Wednesday to charge Labranche only with a drug-dealing charge, saying that police found 1.6 ounces of cocaine and other drugs in his car.

Prosecutor's Office spokesman Dan Donohoe said investigators are still trying to piece together events leading up to the shooting, which left aspiring hip-hop artist Joseph Ryan dead.

"We wanted to rush-file this case to keep (Labranche) in custody, and let the investigation continue," Donohoe said. "He remains a suspect as an accomplice."

According to police, Bernardez entered the rear door of the club on East Madison Street around 12:30 a.m. Sunday intending, he told officers, to shoot another man, James Jones. He fired at three men standing near the door, killing Ryan and wounding Jones and Avery Turner, 29.

In court documents, police say Jones, who'd been shot in the arm, ran back into the club's main space, where Labranche confronted him. Witnesses told investigators that Labranche then shot Jones in the hip before others at the club dragged him to the ground.

Jones told investigators that he and Labranche have an ongoing dispute and that he believes Labranche conducted a drive-by shooting on his home. The nature of the dispute isn't specified in court documents.

Bernardez fled immediately after the shooting. Witnesses identified him as the first shooter, and police arrested him at his family's Seattle home hours later.

While he has no criminal convictions, Bernardez received a conditional dismissal for a 2007 charge of possessing a stolen firearm. His gun rights were restored after the case was dismissed, a legal move often used to prevent future criminal convictions if a defendant is arrested with a gun at a later date.

Interviewed by detectives, Bernardez said Labranche had approached him outside the club and told him to shoot Jones. According to court documents, Bernardez told police that Labranche threatened to kill him if he didn't go through with the shooting; he also told police that Labranche handed him the .45-caliber pistol used in the killing.

After obtaining a warrant, police searched a sedan rented by Labranche. Inside, investigators say, they found the cocaine, hundreds of pills and marijuana bagged for sale. Also found was a 9 mm handgun and $7,230 in cash.

After a hearing Monday, Labranche's attorney, John Crowley, disputed Bernardez's version of the crime. There's no evidence, he said, to support the assertion that Labranche armed Bernardez and forced him to kill.

Labranche, who has no known criminal convictions, is in King County Jail with bail set at $500,000. Bernardez remains in jail with bail set at $2 million. Both are to be arraigned Jan. 21.